3 Ways To Improve Your Instinctive Archery Skills For Bowhunting

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Primary Blog/3 Ways To Improve Your Instinctive Archery Skills For Bowhunting

3 Ways To Improve Your Instinctive Archery Skills For Bowhunting

A focus amongst shooting afficionados lately has been on structured target archery shooting, then attempting to apply those tools to bowhunting shot situations.

This approach can certainly aid in shot proficiency under sanitized conditions, however I have found the more constraints one puts onto their structure - under pressure - that is a live hunting scenario with a live moving animal. The same rigid structure that worked on the 3D range can collapse under the pressure of the very conditions it has set upon the archer.

Here are 3 training points for becoming more proficient at shooting using an instinctive shot method, these same principles can be found within our shooting programs and The Archers Trinity Shooting Method found in The Traditional Bowhunting App.


1. *Practice under pressure*: Set up scenarios that mimic hunting conditions, such as shooting from unusual angles, distances, or with obstacles in the way which require you to compensate for by moving and adjusting for the shot. This will help you develop the mental toughness and instinctive skills needed to perform under pressure when it counts making the shot happen on a live animal. It will also give you the ability to discern between a good high percentage shot and a poor one.

2. *Train with distractions*: Practice shooting while being distracted by noise, movement, or other stimuli.

This will help you learn to focus on your target and trust your instincts despite distractions.

3. *Shoot with your eyes closed under safe conditions*: This may seem counterintuitive, but shooting without visual reference forces you to develop your other senses and trust your instincts. It will help you develop a stronger connection between your body and the target, allowing you to make more accurate shots without conscious aiming.

(Be sure of your background and ensure no one is downrange when doing so!)

Remember, instinctive archery is about developing a subconscious connection between you and the target using hand eye coordination along with focus and intention, important attributes for the bowhunter.

With consistent practice and training, you can improve your skills and become a more effective, confident bowhunter and ethical predator in the process.


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Hi, I Am Grant Richardson

CEO Of  The Ethical Predator

Grant Richardson is from Ontario, Canada; he was raised into traditional bowhunting and bushcraft from a young age. Born into a family that has deep roots in both the bowhunting and fly-fishing community. Grant has developed a unique method of shooting, specifically for bowhunting and instinctive archery based on pressure testing for hunting situations and runs a mentoring program for those new to traditional bowhunting. Creating a fusion between functional martial arts training and archery, the program is specifically geared towards people making the switch from a compound bow to traditional. Grant is a featured writer in The Traditional Bowhunter Magazine and Compton Traditional Bowhunting Magazine and the author & host of The Code of Traditional Archery.